Malaysia agrees in principle to recruit 10,000 Bangladesh workers at no cost

Malaysia has agreed in principle to recruit 10,000 workers from Bangladesh at no cost to them, Bangladesh’s expatriates’ welfare ministry said Thursday as it announced the start of the recruitment process.

The Business Standard reported that Malaysian authorities had also agreed to enlist 338 Bangladeshi agencies under eligibility criteria set by Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources.

The group includes state-owned Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL), 25 private processing or service agencies, and 312 recruiting agencies. BOESL is Bangladesh’s only government-owned recruiting agency, according to the ministry.

The announcement described an agreement in principle, not completed recruitment or worker departures. Malaysia is an important overseas labor market for Bangladesh. The ministry said reopening and expanding suspended or restricted labor markets had been a government priority, with particular attention to Malaysia.